Look at the model
Click View on the icon rail to open the View panel. It changes how the model looks in the 3D view, not what goes into the files.
| Group | What it does |
|---|---|
| Saved views | Save current view keeps the angle, the distance and the projection as View 1, View 2 and so on. Click one to go back to it, or its ✕ to delete it. They are kept for each file on this computer. |
| Color by | Basic shows the model's own colors and textures. Floor, Layer and Surface color the objects by floor, by layer, and by roof, wall and ground surface. Error colors them by grade, and Passed · transparency sets how see-through the passed objects are. Attr appears when a column has Color by checked in the mapping window, and colors by its values. |
| Floor filter | Turn it on to show one floor at a time. Step with the arrows, or click or drag along the strip below them. A floor without a name shows its base height. |
| Section | Turn on Section box to cut away everything outside a box. Drag its sides in Plan · XY and Front · XZ, or the ends of the X, Y and Z bars. Fit to selection and Fit to floor fit the box to them, and Reset returns it to the whole model. |
| Lighting | Real sun puts the sun where it stands at the model's location on the date and at the time you set, with Play day and the equinoxes and solstices as shortcuts. It needs the model's coordinate system, see Set the coordinate system. Manual sets the sun with Azimuth and Elevation. Ambient, Shadows and Sky set the rest of the light. |
The buttons above the 3D view show their labels when the window is wide enough. Point at a button to see its full name.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reset | Goes back to the starting view (Home). |
| Frame | Fits the selection in the view (Z). |
| Texture | Shows or hides the textures. |
| Grid | Shows or hides the grid. |
| Persp, Ortho | Perspective or orthographic projection. |
| AO | Ambient occlusion: soft shade where faces meet. |
| Solid, Both, Edges | Faces only, faces with their edges, or edges only. |
| Measure | Click two points to see the distance between them, the horizontal distance and the height difference. A point near a corner snaps to it and shows as a square. A third click starts again. |
| Capture | Saves the view as a PNG image, into the Capture folder set in Settings, or where you choose when none is set (Ctrl+Shift+S). |
Parent topic: Getting started